So when exactly does a sticky run of results away from home start to become something a bit more disconcerting? In the case of Wolverhampton Wanderers, probably about now.

The feeling of unexpected delight and positiveness was almost palpable at Elland Road some nine weeks ago when Jay Bothroyd's injury-time stunner took Wolves joint top of the Championship table.

Amid such delirium, few could have imagined that five away games and a further seven-and-a-half hours of football on, Mick McCarthy's troops would still be awaiting a follow-up to Bothroyd in the 'goals for' column on the road.

Thankfully Wolves' home form has stayed admirably intact but this latest away setback at previously-struggling Hull suggests a touch of travel sickness that may not be curable by a simple dose of antihistamine.

And it may well get worse before it gets better as next up are Birmingham City, who with five successive maximum hauls in the league are comfortably the most productive team in the league at present.

"The away form is obviously becoming a bit of a concern," said McCarthy. "We started the season well enough, winning at Burnley and Leeds, but we need to get back to that sort of form.

"We didn't compete at all against Hull and that's not something I've been able to level at the players too often this season."

As in their previous away match at Southampton, Wolves produced little of note at the KC Stadium.

Even prior to former Birmingham youngster Craig Fagan seizing on some slack marking to prod home the opening goal on 13 minutes, Wolves were out of sorts, with Hull striker Jon Parkin forcing Matt Murray into a fine save with little over 120 seconds on the clock.

Parkin had already been forced off with an ankle injury prior to Fagan's breakthrough but his replacement Nicky Forster almost added an immediate second goal, heading over from close range from Damien Delaney's cross.

Wolves did rally, with Jamie Clapham shooting into the side-netting from a tight angle and firing a free kick straight at Tigers keeper Boaz Myhill, but the game's pivotal moment arrived shortly after the break when half-time substitute Jemal Johnson dispossessed Michael Turner to run in on goal.

Turner clearly tried to pull Johnson back but the pacey striker remained on his feet to try to score, only for the chance to go begging and for referee Uriah Rennie to decline the award of a penalty. McCarthy said: "It's difficult to know where we stand with the rule about trying to play an advantage and then bringing play back. Does that apply in the penalty area?"

The manager, though, was not over-playing his complaints, insisting Wolves' failure to take anything from the match, confirmed when Fagan easily skipped past Clapham to play in Stuart Elliott for a 75th-minute second, was self-inflicted.

"I can cope with losing games if we perform better but we didn't get a foothold in the game at all," said McCarthy.

"I don't think anyone expected the earth, moon and stars from us but with what we've done we've given ourselves a chance. So when we drop below those standards it's a real disappointment."